[1] Hurley was born in Washington state and has lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, Durban, South Africa, and Chicago.

[8] Her first novel trilogy, the Bel Dame Apocrypha, is what Hurley called "bugpunk":[9] set on a far-future desert planet whose technology is based on insects and whose matriarchal, Islam-inspired cultures are locked in perpetual war.

Her second trilogy, the Worldbreaker Saga, is grimdark epic fantasy that aims to subvert the genre's tropes such as the hero's journey.

[12] Her first nonfiction book, the essay collection The Geek Feminist Revolution, was published in 2016.

[13] (The Stars Are Legion) David Palumbo's cover art for Hurley's novel God’s War (part of the Bel Dame Apocrypha series)[5] was nominated for the Chesley Award for Best Cover Illustration – Paperback[52] and won Gold in the 2011 Spectrum Award - Books.